


Children Of The Otherworld

by Heartsprout (graygryphon)



Series: Children Of The Otherworld AU [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Background Character Death, Blood, Children Of The Otherworld AU, Discrimination, Fake AH Crew, Gang AU, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of it, Mentions of past abuse, Mild Gore, Multi, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Recreational Drug Use, magical abilities, pure carnage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 10:24:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7098859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graygryphon/pseuds/Heartsprout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People call you cursed, call you a demon, enough times and you start to believe it</p><p>Michael's crew all have abilities that have made them outcasts, have made them feared by everyone around them</p><p>only what happens when a group like that turn against rules and make their own laws?</p><p>--</p><p>Based off the FAHC AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shit Hitting The Fan

Michael crouched behind a stack of crates, listening intently to the shouting and gun shots over the sound of the alarm blearing through the warehouse.

It was supposed to be a simple job; Gavin deals with the security systems, Ray directs Geoff through the building to pick off the isolated threats while Michael and Ryan push further in to neutralise the guards hovering around the loot.

And when that had been achieved, Jack would bring in the van and they would load up their haul and ride off into the sunset clinking champagne glasses together.

Only Gavin had somehow managed to miss a system that was running off its own generator, blocking him from connecting to it through the power grid.

They must have known they were coming.

“Where are you two?!” Geoff rumbled through the ear piece, the sounds of guards yelling and being taken down also coming through.

“We’re fucking hiding!” Michael yelled, then gave a nervous look over his shoulder. Ryan was leaning against the crates, eyes squeezed shut in concentration and breathing heavily as the bullet hole in his shoulder bled sluggishly. Michael looked back to the scene in front of the crates.

“Ryan’s been hit, I don’t know how long we have before…” Michael trailed off.

A quiet _shit_ came through the earpiece which Michael was unable to place to a particular voice

“It won’t happen” Ryan grit out behind Michael, who didn’t turn to look at the mercenary.

“We need to get this done _now_ ” Ray said “I’m plugging strays but too many were able to scatter and get better ground when the alarm went. They are everywhere”

“Get out there, Micool! You can make damn _force fields!”_ Gavin squawked through his piece

“ _You know it doesn’t work like that!”_ Michael yelled at the brit, and then swore as a bullet struck inches from where he was peeking around a crate and the shooter was approaching.

“God DAMMIT Gavin!” Michael yelled, launching out of cover and sprinting away to try draw the people alerted by him away from Ryan and hopefully not catch him also.

Bullets whizzed past Michael close enough to clip his eyelashes as he launched himself into the air with a strike to the ground, twisting and landing on an unaware guard like a ton of bricks. Michael felt that strange sensation you get when you feel a man’s spine get crushed by your force.

He didn’t think many people would be able to relate.

“Jack, you need to get to Ryan before shit goes skyward” Geoff roared as a guard’s strangled yell turned into a gargle somewhere very close to Geoff.

“It won’t happen”

“As if, Geoff, Michael is barely holding up in there and all I’d have is _one_ _gun_ versus _one hundred_ guns” Jack replied.

“Just let him do it, Geoff!” Ray yelled

“It won’t happen”

“We all agreed that it was only ok in _extreme_ situations, with the biggest connotation of _extreme_ possible!” Geoff argued.

Michael took a quick glance back over at the crates as he threw a group of guards over his shoulder with a well-executed swing.

A guard had run past it and then appeared to have heard something and was now cautiously approaching where Ryan was sat.

“ _Fuck_ , Geoff, he has to do it!” Michael yelled, trying to run back to Ryan but getting cut off by a wave of guards.

“But-” Geoff started to say, but was cut off by a strained noise from Ryan’s frequency.

“It…won’t…happen” Ryan panted out, voice taut and struggling to hold steady.

The other five men of the crew all knew shit was about to hit the fan.

“Gavin, the lights!” Geoff commanded, and not even a millisecond later the lights began to flicker and cut out one by one. The guards all halted firing a moment later, shouting in confusion and trying to figure out their bearings.

Michael watched the following scene play out in snapshots whenever the lights shone for a split second.

The guard by the crates turned suddenly to where Ryan was hiding

The guard begun to rapidly back away from the crates.

The crates were thrown in various directions

By the ungodly _beast_ that now stood where Ryan had been.

Michael felt his heart skip a few beats as he turned and tried to use his memory to make it to the door near where he was, blindly swiping guards out of the way that might be in his way.

“He’s fucking gone!” Michael yelled and then skidded to a stop, plastering his hands over his ears as an air splitting monstrous screech clattered off the walls around the room.

Something had struck Michael in the back when he had stopped, throwing him to the ground as guards began yelling and screaming frantically, the horrid sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking rippling around the room.

Michael rolled over and started scooting back, the lights completely dead now giving him no idea where he was.

The air was knocked out of his lungs when he suddenly struck a wall, making him wheeze as he drew his legs in and closed his eyes.

He relied on his hearing, picking out sounds of people getting to close and throwing up barriers to keep them away.

And above that he listened to Ryan. He listened to his snarls and screeches, he listened and tried to track him around the space as the noise of his victims began to peter out and eventually go quiet.

He jumped when a voice crackled in his ear piece.

“The goons not in the main area have fled, the building is more or less empty, but they are collecting to try push Ryan back” Ray said.

“He’s cleared the room?” Geoff asked

“Yes” was all that Ray said.

“Lights” Geoff commanded, followed by the lights quickly blinking to life again making Michael’s eyelids glow red. Michael kept his eyes closed a moment longer before slowly lifting his head and opening his eyes.

Carnage. He felt an empty feeling for a moment in memory of when he wasn’t this desensitized to brutal murder, but then he took in the form of the beast laying in the centre of the massacre and the feeling left as quickly as it had arrived.

He pushed himself to his feet and then slowly moved towards it, absently pushing bodies and detached limbs aside without even looking down.

The beast’s chest and back heaved with its panting, a deep sounds rumbling in its chest.

Michael circled around it, giving it a few feet of berth before stopping near its head.

It let out a low growl when it noticed someone was approaching, but when its bloodshot eyes looked up and recognised him it stopped.

Michael slowly knelt by its head and tentatively reached out a hand, resting it on the monsters wide forehead.

“Hey rye-bread”

It let out a deep sigh, its metallic breath swirling in the air around them, before it closed its eyes and began to shrink

A hazy smoke the same colour as Michael’s barriers rose up from its body as huge muscled forelegs morphed into still muscular but very humans arms and its wicked claws became blunt and flat fingernails.

Its stubby snout shortened and its teeth retracted back beneath its lips while the shaggy mane running down its back receded back till just a normal ponytail rested between his shoulder blades.

Its form went from about the size of a pickup truck to the size of a regular 6 foot man.

Michael scooted closer and eased Ryan over onto his back, shucking off his jacket and placing it under his head.

Ryan’s eyes slowly opened, taking in the space around him and then Michael looking down at him with a gentle but concerned smile.

“Hey Michael” Ryan said weakly.

“I think you overdid it” Michael said with a small huff of a laugh.

Ryan’s mouth pulled up in a small smile.

“Yeah, I guess it did happen” he said, voice barely a whisper by the end.

Michael felt the familiar cold breath of air pass over him as Geoff appeared beside him and knelt down also.

“Hang in there, buddy, we’re retreating back to the safe house now” Geoff said gently, putting a hand on Ryan’s good shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

Ryan hummed in response as what remained of his energy ran out and he drifted unconscious.

Michael and Geoff looked up as Ray and Gavin came barrelling into the area, taking only a short moment to take in the area, and then looked towards them un-phased.

“We gotta go, Geoff!” Gavin said, slightly panicked from his inexperience with being out in the field amongst the thick of it.

“They are approaching quickly. Jack is waiting out that back door for us” Ray said, eyes still glowing slightly as he spoke.

Geoff nodded and gave Michael a nod before moving to Ryan’s other side. Together they got him standing, arms slung around their shoulders, and began to half carry, half drag him as he was significantly taller so his feet were still touching the ground.

Gavin and Ray jogged to catch up, Gavin even taking the moment to bend and pick up Michael’s jacket and bring it with him.

 _Bless that kid_ Michael thought. He loved that jacket.

Gavin surged the lock on the door and it swung open, revealing Jack idling in the van outside.

Ray darted ahead and yanked the van doors open, helping them get Ryan in before he clambered in after.

The van peeled away before Gavin had even closed the passenger’s door properly and then they were slipping away through back roads and then away out of the district towards one of their safe houses.

Geoff raised one of the seats in the back of the van and pulled out a woollen blanket, handing it to Ray who spread it out over Ryan’s naked form while Michael made sure he was lying as comfortably as possible on the hard metal floor of the van.

“How’s he look?” Jack asked, taking a quick peek through the rear-view mirror but not being able to see Ryan from that angle.

“He’s completely worn out. He used way too much mana. The only concerning issue is how much damage he did to his shoulder wound by using the arm when he changed” Geoff said, then rubbed his face wearily before realising a generous amount of blood had transferred from Ryan onto his hands.

Ryan looked like a blood bank had exploded beside him. You could barely see skin aside from small patches amongst the red.

99% of it wasn’t his.

Michael sat back against a wall of the van, letting his head knock back against the metal and closing his eyes.

He was getting better at his manifestations, but it was still an energy suck using that much mana in such a short period of time. He wanted nothing than to crawl into bed and switch off for a while.

He felt Ray also lean back beside him, bumping him softly with his shoulder.

Michael looked at him and gave him a small smile, letting his head flop over to rest on Ray’s shoulder.

They were all feeling the weight of exerting so much effort, usually things went one thousand times better than that.

Though it did seem like recently rival crews and gangs were more prepared, had a better idea of what to expect, and were making their operations harder to pull off.

_It was their fault they were doing all this_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just to help y'all understand (and for my own future reference)
> 
> Geoff can ghost through solid object by turning to mist,  
> Michael can create physical manifestations,  
> Gavin can feel through electric currents and redirect/absorb it,  
> Ray can sense the energy put out by flora and fauna, creating a mental image in his mind,  
> Jack can heal physical injuries  
> and Ryan can change into a rage-death-monster-wahey.


	2. Nothing More, Nothing Less

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> people seem to /really/ like this fic/AU, so i present you with more
> 
> go forth

_Wires that rattled with the electricity coursing through them periodically_

_Tubes with all kinds of coloured serums pumping inside the plastic_

_Needles and scalpels and pain, pain, pain_

Michael woke with a jolt, choking on a gasp and rubbing madly to clear the fog from his eyes.

He took in the sleeping form of his boyfriend, Ryan’s eyes darting beneath their lids and eyebrows pushed together slightly.

It hadn’t been Michael’s dream.

Michael reached over, running his fingers soothingly through Ryan’s hair trying to calm the man’s stressed mind.

Ryan had the dream often, the same recurring snapshots and thoughts playing behind his eyes. Sometimes it was strong enough that the images would bleed into Michael subconscious, despite neither of their abilities being mental.

Ryan began to ease slightly, eyebrows relaxing out and his breathing becoming calmer under Michael’s tender finger strokes. Michael sighed, the corner of his mouth pulling up slightly.

He often wished his hands could work the dreams completely from Ryan’s mind

Wished he could work away the memories they were built from.

There was a quiet tap at the door, Michael looking up to see it swing open slightly and Jack peek in.

“How’s he doing?” the man asked.

“Dreaming” was all Michael said, squeezing his boyfriend's hand in his softly.

“It wasn’t so hard to fix his shoulder” Jack said, coming over to stand beside Michael “but his exhaustion will take more time to replenish”

“You needa’ get the upgrade so you can heal mana” Michael said with a solitary chuckle

“Well, mana can’t get _hurt_ , so I don’t know how I’d do that” Jack said with a small smile, resting a hand on Michael’s shoulder “how about you?”

“M’ fine” Michael shrugged, though he could feel that familiar sensation as Jack pushed out through his body and checked for injuries. He mustn’t have found anything because he moved his hand away and crossed his arms after a moment.

“Get some rest in. Geoff want’s to have a de-briefing later. We need to talk about what to do with all these crews being a step ahead of us”

Michael nodded, eyes still watching Ryan’s chest rise and fall. Jack hovered for a second before heading out of the room.

Michael only sat there for a few more minutes before standing and heading out.

This particular safe house was their main one and acted as the hub of their operations. Aside from the living quarters, there were meeting rooms, a tech room for Gavin to more or less plug himself into the internet, a sort of gym to work out or meditate in, and a kitchen for all your kitchen needs.

It was half of an old warehouse in a mostly abandoned district that was quiet and great to skulk away to. No one bothered them there. Michael had helped with renovation, doing most of the heavy lifting. He wasn’t necessarily _strong_ in a physical sense, but he’s a great problem solver, especially with the aid of manifesting any kind of dense shape you want. They were transparent, but had decent structural integrity.

Michael passed into the main room which was set up with a dozen or so sofa sets and a number of tables piled with _crap_. Papers, guns, even bags of _money_ _or diamonds_ sat unassumingly around.

Ray was sitting on a particular favourite sofa of his, head tilted back and eyes closed. There was a faint blue glow emanating from behind his lids, which faded when Michael entered and Ray lifted his head to look at him.

“Where’s Geoff at?” Michael asked, weaving through the random layout of sofas to sit on one opposite Ray.

Ray shrugged

“I dunno, I wasn’t paying attention” he said, rubbing an eye with his fist tiredly.

“It’s literally your _job_ to pay attention to where people are” Michael said light-heartedly, but Ray's frown made it clear he didn’t appreciate the joke.

“He’s in the main briefing room” Ray said, eyes unfocusing and beginning to glow again “so is Jack and Gavin. Tell him I’ll be there soon” he added, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back again.

Michael’s lips pursed slightly, concerned. He didn’t like it when Ray lost his sense of humour; it meant even he wasn’t happy with the failure that was last night despite his usual carefree attitude.

“Don’t look at me like that” Ray muttered, Michael close enough to be able to fully sense his physicality.

“Sorry for caring” Michael said, no venom in his voice, as he got up and headed to find the others.

Geoff was on the far side of the long planning table, chair turned so he was facing away. Jack was flicking through some files as he sat on the left side of the table, and Gavin sat opposite him, twisting his seat side to side absently.

Michael halted Gavin's twisting by jamming a manifestation through the working of the chair, the tech frowning at him as Michael took a seat on the same side as Jack.

“Where is Ray” Geoff asked, not even turning around.

“He said he’ll be here soon” Michael said, taking one of the papers Jack wasn’t using and glancing over it. It was a layout of the wiring systems of the place they had hit, with a big red circle around an area, the words ‘hidden system’ scrawled beside it.

Geoff sighed, the noise rumbling in his chest at the end. Michael could practically _feel_ how annoyed and stressed the crew’s leader was.

“Colin must have either not known about the separate alarm, or he got paid off to not tell us” Jack sighed, setting aside the papers “fucking weasel”

“Colin wouldn’t cross us; I know him better than that” Gavin said.

Geoff was suddenly standing beside Gavin, leaning over him and gripping the back of his chair and the table in either hand

“You also are supposed to know god damn _security systems_ better than that!” Geoff roared, Gavin shrinking in his chair with surprise and a little fear “you always boast how you could figure out shit like this in seconds!”

“Geoff!” Jack shouted “Don’t offload your shit on him! You can walk through damn _walls_ and you didn’t see the system. Ray can feel _energy_ and he didn’t sense the system. Don’t blame it on Gavin!”

Geoff glared at Jack, but with a swift phase was back sitting in his chair, fuming silently.

Gavin crossed his arms on the table, dumping his chin on them and glaring down at the table. They all knew how Geoff could take out his frustration on the crew, but Gavin often took it to heart. He looked to Geoff as a father figure, hanging on his every word. This could lead to him believing things Geoff didn’t really mean and cause beef that could last days till Geoff could reassure him again.

“The gangs are getting smarter” Michael spoke “they know what they are up against. People are witnessing what we can do and word is spreading. If we want to get our upper hand back we have to cut off the chain of whispers”

“And how do we do that” Ray asked, coming into the room now and sitting beside Gavin.

“Spread some rumours, feed out some misinformation. Tell people our weakness is god damn _banana bread_  or some shit” Michael said

“That could actually work” Jack said “if we fill the channels with so much info, some believable but false and some so insane no one would believe it; then crews won’t know what info to trust and just end up ignoring everything”

Geoff turned in his chair now, a look on his face that showed he wasn’t all that displeased with the idea.

“You think this could work?” Geoff asked, tugging on his beard slightly.

“Gavin can scour the web, filter through the channels we already know of, and start feeding bullshit into their databases. If we set up some fake heists and operations, changing our M O and doing things different to normal, then the crews won’t know what to believe” Jack said. Geoff bobbed his head, sold on the idea.

“Is that achievable, Gavin?” he asked, looking at the table with unseeing eyes

“Easier than sending emails, boss” Gavin said, voice toneless. The fact that he said ‘boss’ is enough of an indicator that he wasn’t all that happy with Geoff, but he would follow orders.

“Ok; we’ll go with that plan. If we don’t see results in a few months we try another tactic” he said, then sighed wearily, adding under his breath “it’s not like I can think of any other sure fire way to fix this mess”

Michael ran his fingers through his curls, scratching his scalp.

“What’d I miss?”

Everyone looked up to see Ryan in the doorway, trying to look casual as he leant on the doorframe, though it was quite obvious he needed to do it to support himself.

Michael jumped to his feet.

“What are you doing up?!” he asked, worry in his voice.

“M’ ok” Ryan said, a small side smile pulling his mouth up to try reassure Michael.

“I couldn’t even feel you standing there, Ryan, you need to rest dude” Ray said as Michael went over to his boyfriend with the intent of dragging him back to bed.

“A low mana count never slowed me down” Ryan said, trying to chuckle but it was so pathetic it was more of a huff.

“I will drag you to bed by your ear if I have to” Michael warned, frowning up at the man.

Ryan packed away his smile, replacing it with a determined smirk.

“Listen; either you let me sit in on this meeting now, or you fix the giant hole in the wall of the bedroom when I rage out of there later” he said.

Even though he had meant it as a joking threat to let him stay, Michael felt a stab in his chest at the idea of Ryan shifting again.

Ryan had made the mistake of telling Michael when he was drunk one time how it felt like being set on fire, and every time Ryan had to shift since had torn Michael’s heart in half at the thought of his partner having to go through that.

Ryan saw how his joke had gone awry, reaching out to gently cup Michael’s cheek in his hand.

“I’m fine, Michael, I just want to sit and listen and not feel useless” he said gently.

Michael sighed, helping Ryan over to the chair at the opposite end from Geoff and gliding his own chair over to sit beside him. He slipped his arm through Ryan’s and linked their fingers together.

Jack explained the plan to Ryan, who also seemed confident in the idea.

“Scrambling information supplies has worked in similar situations before” Ryan commented “if we do it good enough it should work this time too”

“Exactly. I’ll give it 2 months to start showing positive results. If it doesn’t; I’ll work out a plan B in the meantime. We’ll lay low for those 2 months. Give us all some well-earned down time” Geoff said before dismissing the crew.

Ray and Gavin headed off together, Jack hanging back to run some other things past Geoff while Michael slung Ryan’s arm over his shoulders and supported the man on the way back to the room.

“You need to stop acting like you are above the need to sleep” Michael grumbled, unimpressed with Ryan’s state. He had no idea how he had made it to the meeting on his own.

“ _The Vagabond_ doesn’t need such simple things like _sleep_ ” Ryan announced, putting on a deep commanding voice. Michael just rolled his eyes fondly.

“It’s hard to be a mercenary if you can’t keep your eyes open” Michael retorted.

“Red Bull was invented for a reason” Ryan smirked.

Only Michael was starting to get a little annoyed, pent up emotions rising up despite his efforts to quash them down.

“You are only human, Ryan” he said, his voice a little harder.

“I mean, not _really_ ” he said, stretching out the ‘really’ and still saying it with a joking tone.

Only Michael was no longer in the mood to joke. He paused mid step, shucking Ryan’s arm off so he was left leaning against a wall, turning away to try hide his face that would betray him.

Ryan paused, slowly reaching out and placing a hand on Michael's shoulder, nudging him to turn around.

Only when Michael did, he wasn’t looking at Ryan with the anger he had been expecting. Instead he only saw sadness and pain in Michael’s eyes.

“Micky?” he asked, concerned by the sudden shift in Michael’s mood.

“You _are_ human, Rye!” Michael said, voice going high as he struggled to keep it from cracking “you are as human as the rest of us!”

Ryan sighed, drawing his boyfriend into a tight hug, arms wrapping around the gingers frame and holding him close.

“Of course, micky, I was just joking” Ryan reassured tenderly, pressing a kiss to the top of Michael's head as the lad huffed some breaths to hold back the tears threatening to spill

“You are nothing more than human. No matter what we can do, no matter what other people have done; we are _human_ ”

“I know, I’m sorry, I should have picked a better thing to say” Ryan soothed.

“Leave it to the assholes to call us things. There is enough of that in our lives that we don’t have to contribute” Michael said, barely a squeak on some words.

Ryan just hushed him, rocking them slightly. After a minute Michael roughly scrubbed at his eyes and then continued to help Ryan back to the room.

_It was their fault they were doing all this_

_It was their fault that this was what they had to do to survive_


	3. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mostly just exposition. 
> 
> i don't really know where i'm going with this fic, so it will probably be slow going till i figure it out
> 
> so have this in the mean time :)
> 
> go forth

Mana was like air; produced naturally, invisibly everywhere.

It leaked in through weakening in the borders between this world and what they called the _otherworld_

It was like an alternate dimension kind of thing; a parallel universe situation

And despite it not being from their earth, it had woven its way into the DNA of a small number of humans, altering them in different ways depending on how their cells react

Michael’s body had reacted in a quite useful way; allowing him to create blue translucent shapes to his design. They could be used offensively or defensively, and though they can’t stop bullets, they can toss another person around with ease.

It had been a gold mine as a pubescent teen male to discover you can make a fake hand to wank yourself off with using only your mind, and his ambitions only grew from there.

It also didn’t take him long to figure out the restrictions.

Also like oxygen, your body uses mana and needs more to replace it.

Use too much and it’s like your body is on fire, like every cell is struggling to take individual breaths.

Geoff had actually found him like that; trying to take on a whole armada of cops and quickly running out of mana. He had tried to break into a bank, but wasn’t strong enough to crack the safe.

Michael hadn’t realised there were others like him, and seeing a man suddenly appear like vapour in front of him and start gunning down police with practiced skill was very jarring to say the least.

Geoff had recruited him that day, introducing him to Gavin and Jack when they slunk back to the old safe house, a damp building that had previously been a laundromat with poor ventilation.

These two members of Geoff's gang were also like Michael, were also _otherworld children_ as Jack called it.

Gavin could feel his way through anything that held an electrical current, cutting of the flow of energy or redirecting it. He was even beginning to tap into the internet and sense collections of information, collections of files or documents. He was easily going to be a _very_ valuable asset to the gang one day.

Geoff thought of him like a son, having apparently raised him like one since we was a fourteen year old runaway.

Jack could heal living things. He had started with small animals in his parent’s backyard, but when he accidentally healed his friends broken leg his parents had screamed at him, calling him a demon, and almost called the police before Jack could grab his laptop and run.

His ability to manipulate flesh and bone to heal at amazing speeds was a life saver in more than one sense, him trading a quick heal for a few bucks or a muesli bar amongst the other homeless people he met in his travels. There were enough people indifferent to him since he could benefit them that he didn’t find much trouble.

Geoff had heard of him when he entered the city and plucked him from the gutters before anyone else could.

Michael had been the one to find Ray, ducking into an alley during a shootout to find a skinny Puerto Rican with glowing eyes sifting through a dumpster. He had thought Ray was looking for food, but when he had triumphantly held up a lighter and lit up a blunt Michael was proven wrong.

Ray spent so much time chasing a high to escape the torment of having his mind stretched halfway across the city, subconsciously sifting through every point of life for miles, and he had thought it was a symptom of the weed when he could see a blue pulsing in his mind where Michael stood instead of a yellow one.

Ray had trailed home with Michael under the promise of some more weed and a couch to crash on, and when Geoff realised that Ray could sense people and see an image of them in his mind with sometimes amazing clarity he offered him a role in the crew.

Ray agreed to ease up on the smoking in return for Jack helping him ease his migraines. He could sense energies better when sober anyway and eventually figured out how to tune most of it out at times.

It wasn’t until a few heists later that they met Ryan.

Geoff had gotten word that there was some big medical lab in the city. They were supposedly working on some new anti-aging drug that was making breakthroughs beyond anything else to date, and if they could get that research they would be millionaires from selling it to the highest bidder.

The drug was actually attempts to fuse a person with mana, to use the altering ability of the energy to unlock desirable reactions.

Ryan had signed up to a call for anti-anxiety medication tests, and ended up half torn apart by the scientists blindly trying to manipulate his reactions to mana.

Instead of clinging to his cells and unlocking rejuvenation, they unlocked some deeper animalistic coding buried in him, remnants of when the two worlds were closer together.

Triggered by anxiety, the genes would take hold and twist him into a bloodthirsty beast. He had destroyed half the facility by time the crew arrived, out of his mind in pain and blinded by rage.

Geoff had been ready to get Gavin to drop him with a well-directed current of electricity, but Michael could see the hurt in the beast’s eyes, could see the humanity still in them, struggling to hold Ryan down with manifestations while Jack slipped closer and did his best to ease some of his agony.

It had been enough for Ryan to shift back into human form, barely remembering anything that happened while he was in monster-mode but remembering all too well everything before it.

He had returned with them, a desire to take back what the world stole and a new found way to do it.

It was rare he did use his shifting in a fight. He was unstoppable in the short amount of time before his mana ran out, but he was also hard to direct, mind clouded and unable to always separate friend from foe.

He had been stunning with a conventional weapon though, a deep searing anger making him creative and deadly with a knife or gun.

He and michael had found themselves getting very close in a matter of days

-

The majority of the world didn’t know about them or their kind, but the minority that did saw them as hell spawn, as cursed beings.

The six of them had felt the sting of a cold uncaring world, so they would burn it down and warm their hands over the fire.


	4. Fire House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i don't know if any frequent readers of my fics have noticed, but the units of measurements and names for things i use change often
> 
> i live in New Zealand, and we are a mash up of american and british terminology, leaning more towards british
> 
> so you get this weird struggle of me trying to decide the most understandable term to use without confusing myself lmao
> 
> so bare with me and my struggle
> 
> go forth
> 
> p.s GUESS WHO POSTED A CHAPTER TO THE WRONG FIC AGAIN
> 
> THIS GUY
> 
> round of applause, people, this level if stupidity must be celebrated

A few weeks later they had begun going out on small heists again, solidifying the confusion Gavin had been spreading by never using a pattern of attack more than once.

Ryan was back at 100%, and Gavin and Geoff were woven like steel again like nothing had happened.

They were targeting a small arms stash of another crew; a lesser bunch of thugs that hadn’t quite taken up their place in the city but were quickly collecting the weapons required to have a good go at it.

The otherworld crew decided they would be an easy target for their underlying plan, and it would also be a good chance to take them out before they got too big for their boots.

They were set up in an old fire station; their main hub of activity being on the upper floor and the more labour intensive work happening on the ground floor where the fire engines would have once sat. They had blacked out the huge roller doors and any other windows in the building, and there was an intense electric fence around the perimeter, a new system powering ever few meters.

They must have stuck to the idea that different power systems would stop Gavin's advance.

However a few meters of fence was more than enough for Gavin to take down the power and let Michael wedge apart the link fence to let the crew in.

Geoff had already ghosted past the fence, clearing the small area of guards visibility before team nice dynamite let the others in, Jack hanging back to maintain their exit route through the fence while Ryan, Michael and Gavin surged into the meet with Geoff behind the back of the building.

“What’s the plan, boss?” Michael asked, cracking his knuckles and grinning with dark anticipation.

“Ray is on top of the building across the road, he’ll lead us through the firehouse when he’s got a strong image to work with” Geoff said, clicking a new clip into his gun

“I’ve almost got everyone pegged” Ray said, voice coming through Michael earpiece.

“Gavin will find a way into the major power network and prepare to crack doors and shit where needed” Geoff said, Gavin grinning as a thin coil of electricity circled his fist for emphasis.

“Ryan and Michael; you will follow rays direction into the work floor. I’ll ghost up to the second floor and deal with all those cunts’ and filter through their intel for good measure, see what they have on us for future reference and find out what needs to be worked on”

“Guns blazing?” Ryan asked, assault rifle at his side.

“Guns blazing” Geoff agreed “but only when you have eyes on the weapons. We don’t need you blowing us up to dicks with stray bullets into a box of grenades”

“We keeping anything?” Michael asked

“When the building is secure i'll bring in the van and we can load out anything of value to us or our contacts” Jack said over the coms

“So no boom?” Michael asked with an exaggerated pout

“Not today, tiger” Geoff chuckled, then with a swift scout of the area, nodded and disappeared through the wall in a dim blue mist.

Following Ray’s directions they headed around to a back service door, Michael easily popping the lock from the inside with a well manoeuvred manifestation, he and Ryan busting in and silently downing the few goons hanging around the small area inside the door leading into a hallway.

Gavin slipped in behind, moving over to a small alarm panel and nicking a wire with a knife, wrapping his hand around the exposed end and letting out a exhilarated whoosh of breath.

“Most of its on one system, only a few sub rooms being isolated” he grinned, blepping slightly as he focused on what he was sensing.

“The majority of thugs are in the upper room and the work area. There is a small collection spaced around an area I can only imagine is the haul” Ray commed in, guiding Michael and Ryan to the collection while occasionally feeding info to Geoff.

Ryan and Michael peeked through a doorway to see the crates of gear, a group of goons standing or sitting around, not alerted to them yet. They exchanged a quick look, ryan winking at his boyfriend.

“Ok, I’m going start popping these guys up here; gun shots mean go time” Geoff declared, everyone confirming followed by a pause and then all hell breaking loose as muffled popping of Geoff's gun could be heard followed by Ryan busting into the area with rifle going and a manic sort of laughter emanating behind the mask covering his lower face.

Michael followed suit, striking out with needle sharp manifestations held like massive bear claws as he swiped at them with all morals or inhibitions abandoned.

When the floor had been wiped of them and the upper floor was silent, Gavin brought one of the roller doors up so Jack could back the van in, Geoff joining the trio as they began sifting through the crates for things of value.

Michael jimmied the nailed boxes open, letting the others appraise the gear. He didn’t have a whole lot of knowledge on the stuff, never really needing anything other than his mana method to slaughter with ease. It also meant he didn’t leave evidence which was a plus.

“How are things looking Ray?” he asked, leaning back against a wall to catch his breath while the others filled the van.

“Everything seems good, I don’t- hold on…. I’m feeling another life point” he said, pausing to pick it out while the crew stood at alert, gazing cautiously into the dimly lit corners of the room.

“Where are they?” Geoff asked

“I… I think it’s a fucking  _kid_ ” Ray said, voice slightly distracted “the energy is so small I don’t think it’s an adult…”

“I’ll go scope, you guys get this done” Michael said, creating his bear paws again before slinking out of the room.

“Keep following that wall, it’s a room off to the left” Ray said

“If it’s on the right side- my right side- of the building, then the power is isolated in that area” Gavin chipped in.

Michael pressed himself against the wall, sliding slowly along it as he approached the doorway in question. He held one claw at the ready, dropping the other to wind the volume down on his ear piece so he could hear properly.

There were no sounds until he was right at the doorframe; a quiet wheezing coming from within.

He steeled himself, clearing his mind before flipping around into the doorway, arm pulled back ready to strike.

But all he saw was a small girl kneeling against the back wall, clothes nothing but rags and fear in her eyes.

She looked maybe only 10 years old, wrists rubbed raw with the tell-tale marks of rope bindings.

She was terrified and alone, probably a prisoner of the crew they had just eradicated.

He let his manifestations fade away, lowering to a knee and holding his palm up, giving her a gentle smile.

“It’s ok, I won’t hurt you” Michael said, beckoning her closer.

With the faint glow of his creations gone, there was no light on her face anymore, but he could see as she slowly got to her feet, holding a crouched position as she bit by bit moved over to him.

“That’s it” he smiled, reaching forward a little more “we can take you somewhere safe, no one will hurt you anymore”

When she was close enough she began to reach out a hand, placing it in his as she came into the light from the hallway.

He closed his hand softly around hers

And then felt the air get punched from his lungs by some invisible force, gasping out as he fell forward onto the hard concrete below.

He could barely move, struggling to reclaim air that couldn’t seem to make it past his throat.

“You shouldn’t have turned off your earpiece...” a female voice spoke above him, too mature to be from the girl.

He tried to force out a call for help, to force out any kind of noise at all, but everything was getting distant as he began to black out from lack of oxygen

He felt long fingernails comb through his hair before he lost hold of consciousness and fell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ay so this is the mask i'm using for ryan in this AU
> 
> http://www.hiairsoft.com/images/mask/cool-Skull-Half-airsoft-Mask-HAN1003.jpg
> 
> i own the mask myself, and i love him in skull masks but didn't want the full one from the regular FAHC universe
> 
> just a little info peice for ya
> 
> also AWWW SHIT SON
> 
> what is it with me and putting my smol bear child through hell
> 
> next chapter very soon, im gona start it now, so hang in their sproutlings


	5. Vanished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyyy guess which fic i'm working on again
> 
> I've almost completely re-designed the story line, so the previous chapters are OK but the old 5th chapter was almost completely re-written
> 
> i actually /know/ where i'm going with this story now, and having a semi-abandoned one was making me feel bleh
> 
> hurrah
> 
> go forth

 

Every breath tasted metallic, like he had been running for hours.

 

He felt like he had been hit by a truck and thrown half way across the city; each cell in his body feeling crushed and stretched beyond reason at the same time

 

His head throbbed, each pulse reverberating through his body, and he left out a weak groan as he tried to work out what position he was in.

 

Aside from the existential ache, various parts of his body cried out as he tried to move, feeling like they were all taped down against something

 

But it was strange, he couldn’t place what exactly he was stuck to or how, especially since his head was hanging forward meaning he wasn’t lying down on his back

 

“Don’t try to struggle so much; there isn’t enough of your energy to go around…”

 

A cold crawl ran over his skin at the voice, feeling strangely familiar somewhere in his mind

 

“Wh…. Who… are yh’…?” Michael asked, words barely audible and leaving him panting from the minimal exertion

 

“Someone…” came the reply, drifting as if the person was moving around him. Even if he had been able to lift head, his eyes wouldn’t open enough to let an image in

 

“what… d’ you wan’…?“ he asked, testing his bindings again but only feeling whatever was holding him trapped yank at his exposed skin a little

 

“I told you not to struggle; bruising doesn’t add much flavor”

 

The sound of multiple things scuffing along the ground approached, and then thin fingers were trailing through his hair in a manor almost like they were hoping to soothe him

 

“flav..or?” Michael wheezed, trying to move his head away.

 

The person sighed; fingers gripping tight into his hair and making him grit his teeth

 

Their eerily cold breath brushed over his ear

 

“I like my meals to taste good” the female hummed

 

Michael’s head was yanked to the side as brilliant pain flared across his throat and through his veins

 

-

 

Ryan cried out, lurching forward so he was sitting as he grasped desperately, only finding his hands full of soft blanket.

 

He was in the main area of the safe house, having being stretched out on one of the many sofas after being unable to hold exhaustion back any longer. Someone had even laid

a blanket over him.

 

His chest was heaving, sucking is harsh breaths like he had never tasted air before.

 

Hands were suddenly on his shoulders, his head whipping around to look into the face of a concerned Jack.

 

“Breathe, Ryan, its OK”

 

All he could do was let out desperate, confused noises as the images still lingered behind his eyes. Jack spoke softly till him until he was able to breathe properly again, sitting

beside the mercenary on the sofa.

 

“Michael!” he panted, scrubbing at his face with his hands, trying to find his way back from the dream “we need to be out there looking!”

 

“You need to calm down, Ryan, everything will be ok”

 

“But he!...” Ryan trailed off, not knowing how to explain the sudden snapshot that had filled his already uneasy dream, feeling the stabbing ache against his own jugular.

 

He had learned a while ago that sometimes Michael can have images bleed through into his own mind from something occurring in Ryan's dreams, and he himself had never

really understood it, but a strong feeling was telling him that the same thing had happened in reverse

 

Only it had been so strong; Michael only ever experienced it while sleeping right next to Ryan. So unless Michael was hiding behind the sofa…

 

He raked his fingers roughly through his hair

 

_He needed to find Michael_

 

“listen; Gavin is searching the internet as intricately as his little brain can, and Ray and Geoff are mercilessly running through everything that had happened trying to find a clue

to where he went” Jack said, voice even and calm.

 

_What had happened…_

 

Michael had gone to check the back of the building, Ryan quickly helping the other gents to move the haul into the van while the lads communicated with Michael.

 

There had been no noise; one second Ray was making a comment about how he had only just sensed the girl, and the next he was barking urgently into the earpiece, trying to

get Michael to respond.

 

… _he’s gone! They just vanished!..._

 

_…what?! What the hell do you mean?!..._

 

Ryan had come barreling down the hallway, swinging into the side room to find it empty, Michael’s earpiece lying abandoned on the ground in the doorway of the only exit

from the room.

 

Geoff had probably ghosted hundreds of miles in a few seconds, zipping around the building trying to find Michael and the unidentified child while Jack dragged Ryan back to

the van so they could get the heck out of dodge before another crew member disappeared

 

But the leader had found nothing, he and Gavin having to sit on Ryan while they drove away, Ray quickly sticking him with some kind of probably-illegal relaxant to stop him

from transforming and hunting after his missing boyfriend.

 

He had been there one second and gone the next; Ryan would have torn the city apart to find him if Ray hadn’t.

 

Ryan wrapped his arms around himself, gripping harshly to his jacket. Wherever Michael was, the child Ray had sensed was part of it.

 

And whenever Michael was, Ryan would find him and cause them the same experiences the lad was involuntarily feeding into Ryan's dreams.

 


	6. Spirits

The brisk knocks on the metal door rang out mere seconds before it was swung open, Jeremy casually leaning against the frame trying to look inconspicuous

Jack looked him over, glanced around the outside of the building, then let him in and closed the door behind quickly

Jeremy had barely stepped inside before Gavin’s arms were wrapped tight around him

“I missed you so much, lil J” Gavin breathed into the shorter man’s shoulder, Jeremy smiling and hugging back

“What you got for us, J”

The hug was split so that they could turn to see Geoff waiting, sat on one of the sofas with the three other crew members collected in the area too

“You told me to let you know if I heard anything; well there have been whisperings” Jeremy said, Gavin taking his hand and leading him over to a sofa

“What kind of whisperings?” Jack asked, hovering near Geoff

“Talk about weird magical shit happening” Jeremy said, scratching his chin absently “people missing without a trace, some things I know are just accounts of things you guys have done, and some mentions of some kind of ghost kid”

Ryan piqued

“Ghost kid?” he asked “what have you heard?”

“It was hard to get info since people just waved it off as hallucinations, but there was chatter about a little girl or some shit that was changing how she looked… not, like, makeup or anything. Like she could look _different_ ” Jeremy said, noticing the bags under Ryan’s eyes “this what you were after?”

“There was a kid there when Michael disappeared” Ray said “but there was something fucked up about her energy too”

“Maybe she can change that too, not just how she can apparently change her physical appearance” Jack offered, Geoff nodding as he pondered

“Anything else about her?” he asked, Jeremy shrugging

“It was hard to get that much, but the vague shit I learnt about her was in conjunction with the missing people” he said, letting out a wary sounding sigh afterwards

“You did good, J” Gavin cooed, nuzzling closer to his shoulder

“It’s true; this is the best lead we’ve had so far” Geoff agreed, glancing at Ryan who seemed lost in his thoughts, eyes gazing into nothingness without a sign of blinking

“If she shows up each time and probably is the one evaporating these people…” Ray offered

“Then chances are she could show up again. But maybe next time she has someone expecting her arrival” Jack continued, Ray nodding

“We could set a trap to lure her, and then if she takes the bait we can make her tell us what she is up to” Geoff said, running his fingers through his hair “but how do we bait her…”

“We need to know if there is a particular kind of person that she takes, and then find someone we can best match to that description” Ryan spoke, eyes finally looking away from the ground and locking with Jeremy “do you know what _kind_ of people have gone missing?”

“Not at this moment, but I can figure it out” Jeremy said, Ryan nodding solemnly

“I’m sad that means you are leaving so soon, but we need to get my boi back” Gavin said, squeezing Jeremy’s hand in his

“I’ll get it done as soon as possible; anything to help get this weird family back together” Jeremy said with a slight grin, then looked to Ryan “I’ll do all I can”

Ray noted how much this one glimmer of hope had raised the crew’s spirits so much already


	7. Plan

Ryan couldn’t help the anxious way his mouth was twitching as he waited by Jack, keeping an eye on the thugs Geoff was currently cutting a deal with. They were just a generic gang wanting a cut of the city, and they usually wouldn’t be even a blip on their own crew’s radar

But they had chosen to deal with these people for a reason

“Relax, Rye, or you’re going to make them cautious” Jack said quietly, nudging Ryan playfully with his shoulder

“I can’t help it” Ryan sighed, but tried to ease his outward behaviour.

Fake it till you make it

“Do you think she’ll take the bait?” he asked quietly, taking a casual look around the location. A shitty old warehouse courtyard that was out of the way so the public and cops wouldn’t see them, but local enough to hopefully attract their true target

“I hope so” Gavin spoke in Ryan’s ear “I did a lot of careful searching to find these guys”

“And everything is in place?” Jack asked

“Checked and re-checked; I wasn’t allowing any mistakes” Gavin said, letting out a steadying breath “we need him back”

“You in position?” Ryan asked

“The only variable not in its place is little miss kidnapper” Gavin said “I hope she…” he began, trailing off slowly

Both Jack and Ryan exchanged a disguised look

 “Gav?” Jack asked, voice even

“Sorry, I’m still here, Ray was just trying to tell me some…” he trailed off again, a little more sharply, and this time Ryan and Jack were even tenser

“Gavin, finish your sentences’” Ryan ordered

The reply that came through the feed sounded jittery and cut off, like a malfunctioning radio, until it finally went dead.

Ryan and Jack’s eyes locked

“Go check; I’ll get Geoff” Jack said, Ryan nodding solemnly and heading away across the courtyard while Jack moved towards Geoff

Ryan entered into the old office block stairwell, quickly climbing the flights of stairs towards the room Gavin had set himself up in

His heart was racing faster and faster as he began to skip every second stair, periodically barking Gavin’s name into the earpiece

He burst through the doorway, panting and swinging his eyes around the room

Near the desk that was set up with all Gavin’s gear…

Sitting on the floor…

Was his lone ear piece


	8. Twisted

Gavin’s lungs were wracked with a horrible coughing fit, struggling to the point of almost gagging on the bile is drew up

He groaned, trying to look around but not doing a very good job of it since his head felt like it weighed a tonne

He was exhausted into his very soul; he felt so close to passing out again and wanted nothing more than to sleep

“Good job, Kess, another good pick”

The voice startled him, trying to lift his head again and yelping as a rough hand grabbed the side of his head and pressed it back hard to the concrete below

“You’re another _special_ , aren’t you?” the voice purred, a deep feminine taunt in his ear “She certainly knows how to pick them”

“Who are you?” he demanded “where is Michael?”

“Michael?” she echoed, confused, and then Gavin heard her click her tongue “Oh; you mean the other _special_ boy?” she chuckled darkly

“See for yourself”

Gavin cried out as the rough hand grabbed him hard over his shoulder and collar bone, lifting him from the ground with the one hold so he swung from the grip

He tried to grip at the hand and release himself, but it was like a vice

“Open your eyes, stupid boy”

Gavin blinked madly to clear his vision, and then began to see a figure focusing into view in front of him

The figure was hanging at a strange angle from some kind of net suspended between two beams, deathly pale with deep bruises under their eyes and a litter of what looked like needle marks over their throat and collar. They were coated in sweat and hanging listlessly, only supported by how they were tangled in the fibres

Gavin’s stomach dropped sharply

“Micool?” he squeaked in a tiny voice, wincing as the hand gripping him tightened momentarily before releasing him to be dumped on the hard ground

“Doesn’t look that good, does he?” the voice rumbled with a pleased tone “at least not to you”

“What have you done to him?!” Gavin cried, pushing up on his elbows and turning his head towards their captor

His mouth gapped as he realised what she looked like

She too was pale, almost a translucent grey colour

She had twisting scars under both eyes, of which the pupils were a washed out red colour

She badly cut grey hair hung to her chin, casting deep shadows under her sharp cheek bones

He didn’t know how he took all this in, when as he trailed down her body with his eyes he could see how it began to mar in colour, changing in an ungraceful gradient along with the texture of her skin to where a massive spider’s body had grown out where legs and hips should have been

The shiny exoskeleton and massive long furred legs were not of this world, jet black with smatterings of red colouring over the thorax and legs

She watched him take in her appearance, and then smiled a toothy grin with a mouthful of sewing-pin sized teeth

“Quite a sight isn’t it” she chuckled, flexing the two shorter limbs towards the front of the arachnid body. One was missing the bottom two sections, with just a twisted joint showing where they had once grown from

“You… what are you?” Gavin breathed, frozen under her gaze

“There are more _specials_ in this world than just your ‘gang’” she chuckled darkly “This is just how my body chose to express my power”

“You’re a _otherworld child_ too?” he gaped, shocked

She bellowed out a laugh

“Call us what we are; gods!” she boomed “plain old humans are the children in _our_ world!”

“Then why are you hurting people, why are you hurting Michael, if we are ‘gods’?” he asked, trying to crawl backwards towards Michael, every cell in his body screaming to get away from the massive predator

She grinned with a horrid dark look in her eye

“ _Because even gods need to eat_ ”

She was unimaginably fast, moving quickly to Gavin and grabbing at him with darting hands. Despite towering over a meter above him if he was standing, her four massive long legs could carry her quickly across the ground

She snatched him from the ground again, Gavin struggling against her grip and she carried him effortlessly over to another set of beams

He now looked around, seeing they were in some kind of old factory, little of what machinery would have once packed this place left in the space and not cleared out

The beams were part of the support system for the roof and high catwalks, and she began to climb up their trussed struts easily

Gavin’s felt a horrid sinking feeling as he understood that the ‘net’ holding Michael was some kind of web

And she was about to give him the same treatment

“What are you going to do to us?!” Gavin grit out as he struggled, unable to gain any leeway against her

“I spent a long time starving, trying to survive on regular food and animal meat, until I discovered that my body was no longer designed to digest it” she said “a chance encounter with a real estate agent trying to sell my factory left me with the understanding that my diet was now _very_ different. My venom, when given time, will do all the difficult digesting for me” she continued, pausing just a little further up the beams than where Michael was and crouching closed to the metal

“I have to keep my victims alive during that process so that your wee little hearts can keep my venom pumping around your bodies, but when the process is complete one person can sustain me for weeks” she said “we all have to thrive somehow”

“There must be other things you can survive on!” Gavin said quickly, swallowing hard as he saw the sticky white fibres she was beginning to produce, starting to move between the beams to create another web

“Maybe” she shrugged “But I don’t care much for humans anyway, so this suits me just fine”

“Ok, so yeah; humans are shit!” Gavin agreed “but if you joined our crew we could all work together and find you some really tasty specimens. We are all… what did you all us, _specials_?”

She paused

“That almost sounds tempting” she said, pursing her lips “but I’m afraid this goes beyond just beyond you simply being my next meal” she said, returning to her web spinning

Gavin frowned

“What do you mean? Are you saying you chose us for a reason?” he asked, panic rising quickly

She locked their eyes, a twisted dark smile on her lips

“I couldn’t believe my luck when Kess showed up with a member of _his_ crew; it was truly the greatest surprise to find its way into my web”

“Who’s crew?” Gavin asked, confused

A sharp slam of a door nearby jolted them both, Gavin and the spider both looking over to where a silhouette stood in the doorway

Gavin felt his heart jump at the sight of Geoff

“ _Widow_ ” the mob boss called across the factory, voice echoing angrily off the rusted metal

The spider was frozen for a second, before her grin returned more devious than ever


	9. Rewind

Geoff slammed the door to the safe house open, heading quickly to Gavin’s office with Ryan and Jack hot on his tail

Ray was waiting in the room already, holding a set of headphones close to his ears and listening intently

“Is it active yet?!” Geoff asked urgently, Ray shaking his head and unplugging the headphones to let the sound play out loud

“He hasn’t turned it on yet, I don’t think he’s conscious” Ray answered, vacating the desk chair for Geoff and standing at his side by the others

“God, I hope this works” Jack said “he was adamant his plan was perfect so let’s hope nothing unexpected happens”

“Everything’s gone perfect so far” Geoff said “that kid knows shit we couldn’t hope to ever comprehend”

“What happens if the girl kills him before he can activate it?” Ray asked “she might know we were baiting her”

“Shut up and listen” Jack said, everyone going quiet as the sound of feedback began to come through the speakers

“That’s it, he’s got it going!” Ryan hissed excitedly, nervous energy rushing through him

They listened as the sound began to get clearer to the point where voices became enunciated

Sounds of Gavin breathing slightly laboured were the first things audible, but  then there was a sharp cry from Gavin followed by a female’s voice, mature and rich

They listened, frowning as they tried to figure out what was happening while Ray closed his eyes, the pupils beginning to glow behind his lids as he searched

“Who is that? Is it the girl?” Jack asked, doubting it was based on the sound

“I don’t know, she might be able to change her voice too” Ryan said, chewing on his lip as he tried to pick up environmental clues on where they might be rather than their discussion

“I know who it is”

They all looked at Geoff, confused as he gazed unseeing in thought

“What? Seriously?” Jack asked “how?”

They could feel the anger rising in Geoff

“ _the widow_ ; a person from my past. She’s a _otherworld_ _child_ too, but she doesn’t have a method per se”

“what do you mean she doesn’t have a method?” Jack asked, looking up at Ray who was still searching intently with a slight furrow to his brow

“she can’t _use_ mana; it’s more like it used _her_ ” he said “over time it began to twist her body and mind, changing half of her into a giant creature in both body and thought. She became more and more hostile, unable to live a normal life and having to hide away as it ate away more of her humanity” Geoff explained

“The last time I saw her she was lost in her bitterness and rage, blaming me for not finding a way to save her” he said, pausing “she wanted to murder me for it, so I had to leave”

“So she’s taken the lads for revenge?” Jack asked

Geoff shrugged

“I’m not sure, but we need to find her before she can do anything to them”

“I think I just did” Ray said quickly, the others turning to him as his eyes darted under his lids, face pulled into a grimace

“Where is she?” Geoff demanded, standing sharply

“East, in an old factory; her energy is super fucked up and I can feel Gavin too. There's what I think is Michael, but his energy is severely weak if it is” he said

“Get there as fast as you can” Geoff ordered before all that was left was a cold chill hanging in his wake


	10. Desaturate

A pair of faded red eyes stared dead at his, a pair he thought he’d never see again

“ _Widow_ eh?” she chuckled “Is that what you’ve referred to me as all these years?”

“It’s fitting, isn’t it?” he sneered

Her laugh echoed around the factory, climbing down the metal beams and dropping Gavin roughly when she reached the floor

He seemed weak, not really able to even drag himself away from her, but Michael looked even worse

“Let them go, widow, and we can settle whatever beef you have” he said “man to beast”

“And whose fault is that?” she queried, slowly moving closer with heavy stamping foot falls.

The bristly hair on her arachnid legs brushed across the concrete, sounding like an old stiff broom head.

“You abandoned me, you saw what the dark magic was turning me into, you got scared and you ran” she said “in my time of need you weren’t there”

“She found out we are in your crew and wanted revenge” Gavin called to him, a worn out waiver in his voice

“Yeah, we heard” Geoff called back “just hang in there buddy, everything’s going to be fine”

“you heard?” she asked, frowning in her confusion before a look of comprehension crossed her face, turning her head to look at Gavin “you are wearing a wire?”

“He didn’t turn it on till he knew he was in the right place” Geoff said to her “he was powering it using his own mana abilities”

She gave a semi impressed laugh

“That was why Kess didn’t sense it, huh. Smart”

Geoff managed to quash his flinch as a figure suddenly flickered into existence a few feet ahead of him.

It was a young girl, only her features seemed to ripple like the surface of a pond, aging and creasing in places while becoming smooth and supple in others. She glared at Geoff, mouth pressed into a tight line

“Kess is good with energy, and she’s been invaluable with my food supply” the widow said, still moving closer “it takes focus though, so in return I help her get better too”

 “Got a perfect little system going, haven’t you?” Geoff quipped, though it was more gruff than he had intended. He needed to get Gavin and especially Michael to Jack, and maintaining a slick attitude wasn’t on his priority list

The widow glared a little though

“Nothing about this is perfect, Ramsey” she said, moving closer still and making the distance between them faster than he liked “hiding away in a shitty old factory, riddled with pain from a body that shouldn’t physically make sense. I lost my _life_ because of how mana fucked me over!” she roared, lunging suddenly and landing on him, throwing him to the ground and pinning his arms under her strong extra limbs

He grunted as his back slammed on the floor, phasing quickly out from under her to stand between her and the lads

She was shocked, looking around and then locking eyes on him when she found him

“Wait; you couldn’t do that before…” she said, then her confusion turned to anger and then rage “you didn’t just leave me, you developed mana too… and not just that, it gave you a _fucking super power!_ ” she snarled, legs stomping heavily and twisted body rearing

“I didn’t want leave you” he called back, hands balling into fists “you gave me no choice!”

She snarled and barrelled towards him, a blur of red and black rage

The wall to Geoff’s left erupted suddenly, bricks and metal and debris flying everywhere as the massive beast came charging through, the widow unable to react fast enough to get out of its path

It crashed into her, no taller but thicker and more muscled, sending her into an old shipping container that crunched inwards under the force and her weight

One of the few times Geoff was glad to see Ryan in beast form

“Ryan!” Gavin called with joy, Geoff moving to the lad

“Are you ok?” he asked, quickly checking him over with his eyes

“I’ll live, but Micool needs help bad” he said, nudging Geoff towards him

He phased over to the sickly looking Michael, trying to yank on a strand of the sticky web but finding it almost as strong as a steel cable

“How many _freaks_ have you been collecting, Ramsey” the widow yelled across to him as she pulled herself out of the container’s carcass “is it guilt that made you try to fill the hole in your life I left behind?”

Ryan was rumbling and snarling, a horrible sound like tearing metal as he scrapped his claws against the ground and waited for his next opportunity to strike

“Geoff, we’re here” came Jack’s voice through his ear piece, Ray confirming his arrival too

“Stay outside, Ryan and I can deal with this” he barked into his receiver, the widow chuckling darkly

“What’s wrong? Don’t want them seeing this part of your long forgotten past?” she laughed manically “Don’t want them knowing what really happened?”

“What does she mean, Geoff?” Gavin asked

She laughed again, keeping an eye on both Geoff and Ryan

“Do you know why he calls me a _widow_?” she giggled insanely “why it’s not because I’m part spider?”

“What is she talking about?” Jack asked, listening to her talk though Geoff’s receiver

She tried to take a step closer, Ryan snapping and about to advance on her. She pulled back, rising up on her legs to gain more height and keeping Ryan cautiously at bay for now

“Aww, Geoff, you never told them about me? About how we used to know each other _really well_ ” she said “well enough to walk me down the aisle…”

“Geoff?” Ray asked, also listening and reflecting the confusion on Gavin’s face

“And the way a person becomes a widow is when their spouse _dies_ ” she said, bursting out laughing “did you die, Geoff? Did my venom _really_ do such a number on you? Of course I didn’t know its full power back then, but now?” she grinned

“I just figured out how you suddenly got mana” she laughed “it’s not _technically_ mana is it; it’s what’s left of your body and soul trying to hold itself together, and you figured out how to use it to your advantage”

“Her venom digests people…” Gavin breathed, confused and beginning to understand

“And it did” she laughed

“It ate out his soul”

Geoff felt a horrid calm wash over him

She shouted in surprise as he was suddenly clinging to her back, one hand gripping her collar and the other wrapped across her vision

She tried to buck and toss him off, but Ryan’s giant maw clamped around one of her front arachnid legs, the widow shrieking and striking out with another leg to knock Ryan away

Geoff’s blood washed cold as a hand gripped onto his bicep, all the strength draining from his limbs and causing him to fall away from her back and crash to the ground

The girl was standing over him, eyes fierce and pulsing in time with his weakening heart and breaths

There was a horrible shriek crunch and snap, Kess and Geoff looking up to see the widow thrashing wildly, horrible thick blue blood gushing and dripping where her limb was now missing half way down, the spider leg twitching its death throes as it hung from Ryan’s mouth

Kess’ eye twitched, crouching to spring at Ryan

Geoff tried but was unable to lift his arm to reach out and snatch her wrist, Kess leaping unimaginably at the monster that was unaware of her

And then she too was crying out, crashing to the ground and grabbing at her head

“Don’t you fucking touch him!” came Ray’s triumphant shout, Geoff seeing him standing on a service balcony and staring at her trembling form with intense glowing eyes

“I’ll kill you all!” the widow shrieked, a wild fury in her eyes as she regained control of herself despite the still oozing injury

Everything seemed to slow down a little, Geoff really taking in what he was seeing

She had only ever wanted help, wanted to not be pushed down in a world that didn’t want her

She was in pain and terrified

She still was

Mana had twisted her body _and_ her mind

How much of who she was is still left in there?

But he couldn’t help her even if he wanted

He couldn’t then, so how could he now…

“I can’t help her…” he breathed, lost under the sounds of all the anger in the room

“But I can”

Geoff now saw Jack standing in the doorway that he himself had entered through, having heard Geoff through the still active earpieces

“Widow!” Jack called, the furious hybrid turning to glare wildly at the new perceived threat “Let us help you!”

“What?! Why the fuck would I believe that!” she said, a manic and terrible laugh at the end “after everything your crew has caused me?!”

“No one here ever wanted to hurt you!” he shouted “Geoff didn’t want to leave you back then, and now he and Ryan are only defending Gavin and Michael. If you hadn’t let your anger guide you both then and now, no one would be hurting right now!”

“And that means you suddenly think you can help?!” she roared “how could you possibly help me?!”

“I can heal!” Jack replied, holding his arms open in a show of honesty “It’s how I use mana. I can do my best to ease your pain and maybe together we can all find a solution to your struggles. You don’t have to be alone anymore!”

Her expression cracked, caught in a strained confusion as she tried to comprehend everything he had said

“You could heal my body?”

“In every way I am able” Jack replied “both your leg and any chronic pain this form causes you”

Her conflict split through her expression even more

“But you couldn’t make me human again…”

“I don’t know, but it’s something we could try figure out together. You can stop hiding in this factory and we can find you a way to actually live life again” Jack said “but you help us save Michael, you have to show us that there is still humanity trying to thrive again inside you”

She gazed over at Michael, and down at Kess who was slowly slinking across to her now that Ray had eased whatever kin d of mental pain he had been causing her

The widow eyed Ryan who was panting heavily as he waited to see what she would do, and then at Geoff

Their eyes locked for a moment before she turned back to Jack

“You are loyal to Geoff, and you think he is worth you energy?” she asked, calm and looking for reassurance.

Jack nodded solemnly

“I would give my life for him, for all my crew. I want to help you, both because I want to and because I know Geoff doesn’t want to see you suffering”

She took a deep breath and let out a weary sigh, grimacing a little as she began to slowly limp over to him

Torturously slow she made it to him, lowering down till she was just a little taller than him and unable to crouch lower

Jack gave her a reassuring smile, full of empathy and hope

She returned it

And then Geoff saw the 20 years of pain and resentment she had harboured break through the façade

“ _Then give your life you shall_ ” she hissed, hands snapping out to grab him

A strange noise punched out from her throat, everyone frozen as she was motionless, eyes wide and unblinking as she slowly looked down at the jagged shape that had torn its way through her chest, the blue entity dripping with thick blue blood that dripped and ran in rivulets over her glossy black lower body

She coughed a little, blue splattering on her bottom lip, turning her head to see Michael watching her, barely able to lift his head to see where his manifestation had appeared

“There’s…no pain… in death” Michael panted out, the widow opening her mouth to say something

But only a weak chuckled came out, barely louder than a breath, before the red in her eyes seemed to desaturate to grey and she crumpled to the floor


	11. Cradle

“Geoff, are you ok?!” Jack called, moving quickly around the widow’s lifeless body towards him

“I’m fine, check Michael!” Geoff called, finding enough strength to slowly push to his feet and stagger over to where Ryan had quickly folded back down into his human size

“Rye?!” Geoff called urgently, kneeling down beside the shivering man

Ryan groaned quietly, curling into himself a little and hugging his arms tight across his chest

“Michael… is he ok?” he rasped desperately, whimpering a little on each strained exhale

“Don’t worry; Jack will help him” Geoff said, shucking out of his jacket and wrapping it over Ryan

“Michael?!” Ryan wheezed, body completely exhausted of mana and energy

Geoff hushed him, looking over to where Jack was cutting Michael down from the web and Ray was helping Gavin to his feet

“How is he?” Geoff called over, Jack cradling Michael’s head in his lap as he pressed his palms to the lad’s jaw

“he’s pretty fucked up, Geoff, I’ve never encountered anything like what her venom is before” Jack replied, frowning and closing his eyes as he focused “I can heal most of the physical damage, but he’s going to keep deteriorating if we don’t do something about the venom still in his system”

Geoff chewed his lip, looking over at where she had fallen

Her mouth hung open slightly, her rows of teeth visible

“What about an anti venom” he said, turning back to see Jack’s confused look “like how they do with snakes. If you can collect some venom from her, could you figure out a cure the old fashioned way?”

“That could work, right Jack?” Gavin said “she’ll be producing fluids still”

“It’s our best shot; ray, can you take a look while we get Michael and Ryan back to the van?”

“On it” Ray confirmed, making sure Gavin could stand on his own before heading across to her

Geoff helped Ryan up, struggling to support him but managing well enough to begin the slow journey back to the van

Jack managed to scoop up Michael on his own, quickly heading out of the factory while Gavin came over to help Geoff.

“Don’t worry, rye bread, Micool will be better in no time” Gavin reassured him, Ryan still wheezing for Michael in a feeble voice

Geoff didn’t even want to think about the alternate way this situation could end


	12. Children

“One day, it became too much for her” Geoff sighed, swirling his glass of whiskey absently “the creeping insanity that the mana was leaking into her brain was more than she could handle and she lashed out. We fought, but her size and strength were more than I could handle as a mere human. I got away with only a handful of cuts and scratches… and a set of teeth marks in my shoulder”

“And you died? That doesn’t make sense” Gavin said quietly, still looking weary and exhausted as he sat beside Jeremy, a thick comforter wrapped around him

Geoff huffed a small chuckle

“In a way? I guess I did. Her venom must have developed far more than when she bit me, it cause me agonising pain more than anything, the sensation of every cell in my body dying and warping with the mana she had injected into me. It broke apart the atoms holding me together, and the job was given to mana instead” Geoff chuckled again “I couldn’t hold a solid form for at least a week, and I didn’t gain control of travelling while deconstructed for a month or two”

Everyone froze at the quiet noise that the sleeping figure in the bed made, all of them looking down at Michael as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ryan hushed him softly, brushing his sweaty curls from his forehead.

“He’s looking better” Jack said with a gentle smile in his voice “His body is accepting the anti-venom”

“He’s strong” Ryan breathed, rubbing wearily at his eye as he smiled “He’s a fighter”

“I still want to know where that kid went” Gavin said “the girl that took Michael and I, Widow called her Kes”

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing her for a long time” Jack said “If she does decide to get revenge, we’ll be ready”

“How did you put her down like that?” Gavin asked Ray, the lad leaning against the wall beside Jack “she was all wriggly and writhing, how did you hurt her like that?”

Ray shrugged

“She wanted energy? I showed her what being able to see it feels like” he said; face neutral as blue danced behind his eyelids

“I never thought there would be more people like you guys” Jeremy said “I mean, I get that it’s unrealistic to assume you would be the only _otherworld children_ in the world,  but I don’t know… I guess it weird you never hear about them being spotted using mana”

“We get noticed more because we chose to play by our own rules” Geoff said “any _child_ with sense in their head would probably play it safe and stay on the down low”

“Good thing we have no sense” Gavin grinned “that sounds boring”

“We do need to be more careful though” Jack said “not just of people, but other _children_ too”

“Careful sounds good” Jeremy said, putting an arm around Gavin and pressing a quick kiss to Gavin’s temple “I have no magic to save you if you get in trouble”

“Good thing I do then”

They all jumped slightly at the raspy voice of Michael, all eyes turning to see him grinning weakly with one eye still closed

“Michael!” Ryan breathed out, awash with relief “god is it good to see your stupid face smiling”

“Hey rye” Michael croaked, squeezing Ryan’s hand a little

“How are you feeling?” Jack asked, stepping closer and resting his hand on Michael’s shoulder to check him over with his method

“Been better, but I’m alive” Michael hummed

“I missed you, boi” Gavin grinned “You had us all worried”

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think I remember being the one who beat the bitch in the end” Michael said with a tiny chuckle

“Nah, I think that was a hallucination” Ray said “I killed her single handed with only my charm and good looks”

“No amount of magic mushrooms could make someone hallucinate that much” Jack snorted

“Out of the two of us, who do you think is more experienced with mushrooms?” Ray asked

“I swear to god if you don’t shut up you’ll be wishing I was a hallucination when I kick your ass” Geoff sighed

Ryan leaned closer, pressing his forehead to Michael’s while the others bickered

“Don’t scare me like that again” Ryan breathed quietly, Michael humming fondly

“I’ll do my best, but no promises”


End file.
